Embodiments of the invention relate generally to boat trailers and, more particularly, to a boat trailer guide that aids on centering a boat on the boat trailer and assists an operator in boarding and exiting the boat when on the water or on land.
Most recreational boats are stored and transported on a trailer that is towed by a personally owned vehicle. A standard boat trailer consists of a frame, two or more wheels attached to the frame, and a winch stand near the front of the trailer which supports a winch and cable system that facilitates loading and unloading the boat from the trailer and secures the boat on the trailer during transport.
A guide or guide system is also included on the boat trailer that aids in properly positioning the boat on the trailer during loading of the boat thereon, as it is recognized that proper positioning of the boat on the trailer is important to the safe movement of the trailer on the highways. For example, lateral positioning of the boat on the trailer is important not only for safe transportation, launching, and recovery, but also for protecting the hull of the boat.
Conventional boat trailer guides may be provided as a bunk style guide, a post style guide, or a roller style guide. Bunk style guides use longitudinally oriented boards located at the rear of the trailer, but elevated from the trailer frame so that they are above the water line while loading a boat onto the trailer from the water. Post style guides use vertically oriented posts typically secured to the rear of the trailer, with the posts being long enough to extend above the water line while loading a boat onto the trailer from the water. Roller style guides are like post style guides, but the posts are secured to bearings so that they roll. Each of the aforementioned style of guides are positioned so they are slightly wider than the boat in a position that will locate a floating boat laterally centered on a trailer that is submerged below the boat while loading the boat onto the trailer from the water.
While existing bunk style, post style guide, and roller style guides are effective in providing lateral guidance of a boat during loading, such guides are otherwise very limited in their functionality. For example, although most boat trailer guides allow adjustability during installation, all are relatively fixed once they are installed on the trailer. As one result of this lack of adjustability after installation, some existing boat trailer guides may damage the boat by vibrating against the hull during trailering due to their close proximity to the hull. As another result of this lack of adjustability after installation, existing boat trailer guides provide no additional aid other than functioning as a guide, such that—for example—the guides provide no assistance in boarding or exiting the boat.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a boat trailer guide that exhibits a degree of adjustability after installation, so as to be selectively positionable during loading and trailering. It would also be desirable for the boat trailer guide to act as a multi-functional device that not only aids in properly positioning the boat on the trailer during loading of the boat thereon, but also provides assistance to an operator in boarding or exiting the boat.